Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NEksngRCO8

I know, I know, it’s a serious problem and all. You don’t have to drink like a fish yourself to know that. But it’s true it’s medicinal sometimes, especially for someone who can’t really drink anyway.

Well, me, I mean.

I can get tipsy just sniffing wine, and several sips of cosmo will knock me flat. It’s now become well known among my friends what to do when they are in need of some free entertainment. They get me drunk!

But I can turn from a happy drunk to a sleepy drunk very quickly, and then it’s not fun anymore, because I will have to lie down until I sober up. And I become as red as a lobster. Have you seen a sleeping lobster? That’s me when I am totally plastered.

Many people envy my ability to get drunk so easily, men especially appreciate this because I am such a cheap date. And of course they think it’s their cue to misbehave.

That’s why I usually don’t drink when I am out, unless I am with friends. I prefer getting drunk at home where nobody can see the sleepy lobster, although I know many people have this rule not to drink alone.

Perhaps it’s a wise rule since most people can get addicted. But not me, no. I am proud to say my body is built with almost zero tolerance against alcohol and hence I will never get myself addicted.

And if I have trouble sleeping, well, the bottle never lets me down!

Chihuahua

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpX4cUSeRnA

Everything here in Japan is smaller, including the dogs. There are Chihuahuas everywhere in Tokyo. They are on the street, at cafes, in someone’s bags or doggie strollers. You see them everywhere you go.

Don’t get me wrong, I love dogs. But Chihuahuas are not really dogs, are they? I believe they are more rodentia than canine, and I have absolutely nothing against rats either.

It’s just very interesting how Japanese prefer everything small (now do stop that silly smile please!) If you think about it, it makes perfect sense because they don’t have big houses here, so naturally they have to downsize everything, including their pets.

Although personally I believe Japanese have this “Kawai Complex.” They like to be cute. And it’s hard to be cute if it’s big. That’s why everything here is small, and MINI cars are so popular.

Because of this Kawai Complex, girls are expected to squeak their words in a high-pitched childlike voice and wear lots of makeup plus a smile. And boys are expected to act like Disney characters and never grow muscles.

Do you know how many boy bands and girl bands we have here? It’s just disgusting!

Many western visitors complain about the size of the toilet seats here, but the funny thing is, they always find AKB48 (the most famous girl band now) fascinating.

As for me, AKB48 is as fascinating as the toilet seats!

Are You Lonesome Tonight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrojFR7jM9E

Many of my friends collect friends on Facebook. There seem to be a competition going on there. I think the current winner has more than 1,000 friends in her collection.

Once I tried to log in my FB page in Singapore airport while I was just killing time, waiting for my connecting flight. I had to answer some security questions and give the names of my friends whose pics were chosen randomly by their system.

Of course I recognized all the faces, because they are my friends! I've met them, talked to them and even slept with some of them before!

But how the "popular" people pass this face recognition test? And about those cyber superstars, I also wonder, are they so popular that they are actually lonely? Or are they so lonely that they have to look popular?

And if you further analyze their profiles, you will find they are usually single or unhappily-married (too busy enjoying their cyber fame, no time for real social life) and relatively successful (career-wise anyway).

I often hear people commenting on FB that they have too many friends that they have to clean up their friends' list. It's a mystery to me how they got it dirty in the first place!

Freelancers and artists also use Facebook for business, but potential customers are hardly friends, don’t you think? A name without a face is just an acquaintance in your social network, not a friend.

I suggest we have another list on Facebook called “Faceless Friends,” now that should save us a lot of trouble!

Underneath Your Clothes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI86eJkoKw8&feature=fvst

When I was a little girl, I used to try on my mum’s clothes secretly, like all the other little girls. But I also itemized and catalogued all my clothes, coordinated the outfits and documented all the different arrangements. Well you can see the true nerd in making…

Many Japanese read fashion magazines religiously, men and women. Female models in Japan are often cute, rather than beautiful. And there are many half-Caucasian female models here. For Japanese, somehow clothes look more expensive and desirable if the body wearing them has a white face attached.

But Japanese male models often resemble stick insects and are more feminine than Marylyn Meroe. If you have never read any Japanese men’s fashion magazine, it’s strongly recommended to go out and buy one immediately, to experience some serious entertainment.

I don’t read any fashion magazines usually. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy watching beautiful people and I love fashion, but I want real fashion on real people, which is why people-watching is my favorite sport.

Although reading fashion magazines is considered normal, the funny thing is some men find women's magazines fascinating and read them regularly while most women never touch men's magazines.

Of course we all agree that female form is way more superior, but a man simply doesn’t need to look that good, as long as he has certain qualities such as brains, money, or preferably both. And for a woman, the social pressure is on her to look gorgeous all the time. Just read those glittering magazines, you will see looks are still everything we want from a woman.

When can we see a fashion magazine for full-figured women here in Japan?

Fashion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lGTKtqtXeE

It's not a secret that I have a passion for fashion. And I also love photography. So I take pics of myself in different outfits, shoes, accessories and makeup, then share them with my friends on Facebook. Now does it make me an exhibitionist or narcissist I often wonder?

But trend means very little to me. I follow my own style, which is often 'grab the first one I see in the closet.' I always like it simple anyway!

So the clothes on the top of the piles in my closet get their fair chance to be out and about, while some of the unfortunately buried ones still haven’t even made it for their debut.

Sometimes when I have time and decide to dig in my closet to find something more unusual, I always have a pleasant surprise. But even when I choose to go out of my comfort zone (the clothes on the top in the drawers), I still follow one strict guideline: stick to what suits me!

Most Japanese pay great attention to their appearance. It's a nation obsessed with how other people think. But the tragedy is many of them don’t even mind being fashion victims when they try too hard to be different, or looking like a carbon copy of each other when they follow the trend blindly.

I like to observe other people's fashion and analyze their personality and character. Some of my friends prefer conservative style with wacky socks. It’s obvious they are saying, “I may look nice and harmless, but hey, I am also unique underneath. Find the true me if you can!” And I like them for that!

Hypnotize U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM-41D89rdc

Many people like watching airplanes and trains in action, or animals chasing and killing each other, or other people fighting for a ridiculously small ball (comparing with their body sizes).

Do those things excite you too? Well sorry, not me. I like to observe, but only when there are some human stories involved, for example, how people are dressed, how they carry themselves, and how they connect or disconnect with each other.

I suppose there are 2 different kinds of watching, the brainless kind and the brainy kind. Personally I prefer not to be anesthetized either emotionally or rationally.

One of the most popular past-times in the coupledom is watching videos in their living room together. I have nothing against it, but I often wonder if that's the best way to avoid fights.

Although we all use movies or music to help us unwind sometimes, I can never fall asleep while doing it. My brain simply refuses to be switched off that way! Imagine what you might miss!!

Maybe that's why I can never stand crappy movies or noises pretending to be music. Passive viewing/listening is just so not my thing!

Nice Weather For Ducks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8yx4k4tzqE&feature=related

Japanese love their hot springs. They spend hours getting to the hot springs, stay at a hotel there one night, and take a hot bath 3 to 5 times during max 18 hours of their stay.

I like to take a bath too. But unlike Japanese, I can't do it in the summer and I also have problems doing it with strangers I don't plan to have a serious relationship with.

The most horrific thing which can happen to you is being started at by everyone, men AND women. Oh yes, some public baths here in Japan still keep their good old tradition of mix-gender baths.

So I can either take a very long and very hot bath at home or go to a hot spring and stay at an over-priced hotel that has a private bath in the room. And guess what my choice is? Well I stay at home and enjoy my private bathing time at leisure and without any hassle.

Some people read in the bath, some watch movies. But I prefer listening to Jazz or operas, eating strawberries with vanilla ice cream, and slowly sipping chilled white wine in the bath. Very busy actually...

And talking about bathing equipment and accessories, of course my bathroom has the standard water reheating function, but I have been thinking about installing a Jacuzzi, even though I am sure my 2 toy ducks won't be very happy about it.

I also have 2 bath pillows, one is plastic and shapes like breasts, the other is an air pillow. The former is too hard and the latter too soft. So I don’t use them at all.

Last year someone gave me a floating candle and I love it. But I also have an electric bath light that has many colors and can turn your bathtub into a disco. I still don't have the courage to try it out.

Some people like bathing salts, others like bathing oil. But my favorite is, of course, bubble bath!

Oh the water is ready, it’s time for my bath now!!